[This is a special topic edition of Evaluation and Program Planning. It includes prominent critical friends' comments about the 21st anniversary of the empowerment evaluation.

A few highlights of the special topic edition are presented below:

Introduction

David Fetterman introduced empowerment evaluation to the field of evaluation during his presidential address 21 years ago. Since that time it has been used in over 16 countries, ranging from corporate offices of Google and Hewlett-Packard to squatter settlements and townships in South Africa. Empowerment evaluation has been used by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US. Department of Education, Stanford University School of Medicine, and Native American tribes in reservations stretching from Michigan to San Diego.

David Fetterman, Shakeh Kaftarian, Abraham Wandersman, and many other empowerment evaluators, have published 5 books on empowerment evaluation. The 21st anniversary of this approach was celebrated with a panel of luminaries who have helped shape empowerment evaluation with their critiques, concerns, and congratulations. They included Drs. Steward Donaldson, Michael Scriven, Michael Patton, and Marvin Alkin. Their comments are illuminating, engaging, and presented in this special topic edition of E&PP.

Titles of Articles in Special Topic Edition:

David Fetterman: Celebrating the 21st anniversary of empowerment evaluation with our critical friends

Stewart Donaldson: Empowerment evaluation: An approach that has literally altered the landscape of evaluation

Michael Patton: Empowerment evaluation: Exemplary is its openness to dialogue, reflective practice, and process use

Michael Scriven: Empowerment evaluation 21 years later: There is much to admire about empowerment evaluation